HENDERSON HOLDS ADVANTAGE HEADING TO SUNDAY
Play was suspended at 5:55 p.m. on Saturday evening at the 2018 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic due to darkness, with the entire afternoon wave (54 players) still to finish their second round.
Brooke Henderson, who was part of the morning wave and shot an even-par 73 in the second round, is the current leader at 5-under 141. Shanshan Feng has finished her ninth hole and is 4-under par with the front nine remaining in her second round. Five players are tied at 3-under: USA’s Danielle Kang and Ryann O’Toole, who both finished on Saturday, and American Lexi Thompson, Chinese Taipei’s Wei-Ling Hsu and Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes, who will finish on Sunday.
Second-round play resumed at 11:14 a.m. on Saturday after a total delay of 26 hours and 35 minutes dating back to Friday morning. The second round will resume on Sunday morning at 7 a.m.
Upon the end of Round 2, the field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties, with the final round immediately following.
NOTABLE AND QUOTABLE
Brooke Henderson (68-73, -5)
“It was windy today, and I feel like overall (caddie Brittany Henderson) and I did a really good job again just calculating numbers and negotiate the wind as best we could. There was a couple of bogeys I would like to take back, but having four birdies is really good.”
Ryann O’Toole (74-69, -3)
“It was an adjustment period of reading the greens again and figuring out how much you factor in and how much you don’t. So today I just stayed really patient and capitalized on a couple more birdies. But I’ve been striking it well all week and so it’s showing and just try to continue it tomorrow.”
Danielle Kang (70-73, -3)
“I think it’s definitely playing tougher. I just feel like those little mistakes come into play when it’s those type of conditions. It was fun, though. I like this kind of weather.”
PLAYERS HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS OF SPENDING TIME OFF
Faced with a delay of 26 hours and 35 minutes from Friday to Saturday morning, players were given a rare opportunity to spend an entire day off mid-week, relax and enjoy Paradise Island.
With so many personalities on the LPGA Tour, it’s no surprise they each had a unique way of using their extra time:
Danielle Kang: “I went back, went and worked out, took a nap, for like three hours, ate early dinner, had Ben and Jerry’s with Michelle (Wie), went to sleep, woke up, read a book.” (Kang is currently reading “Go Set a Watchman” by Harper Lee, one of her favorite authors)
Ryann O’Toole: “Took down the house at the casino. Yeah, quite a few grand.” No way? Playing what? “Baccarat. My fiancee and I are quite ahead. I’m sure that’s what I’ll go do again now and relax a little bit and get some dinner somewhere. Just fun, kind of keeps the competitive edge inside you and kind of also distracts you so you’re not just sitting there twiddling your thumbs. Tried going to the pool but it was cold and kind of overcast for a while and windy, so let’s just go gamble so it turned out to be successful.”
Lizette Salas: (Salas said she shopped around for condos in Las Vegas and did her taxes) “All the adult stuff.” They must not have been very complicated taxes. “Well, it gets a little complicated with California, but, you know, we gotta do it. Just kind of, you know, big girl decisions and, you know, pushing close to 30 and not this year but next year. Just making things easier on myself.”
Shanshan Feng: “Nothing, just kept sleeping and eating, stay in my room. There was really nothing to do. Outdoor, the wind was crazy so I didn’t do much.”
Brooke Henderson: “Didn’t really do too much, just tried to stay, you know, mentally sharp but tried to rest, because I’ve been up really early both mornings. Yesterday I didn’t really play at all, only a couple holes, and then today, you know, I was prepared to play all the holes, but also expecting that there was going to be delays again, so I felt like I prepared myself well for that. Yeah, just rested and tried to get mentally prepped.”
HARD WORK AND NEW CLUBS PAY OFF FOR O’TOOLE
Ryann O’Toole completed her second round at 4-under 69, which she largely credited to a lot of offseason work – and the new PXG clubs in her bag.
“I’ve gained three to five yards with every club. Last year my 7-iron was 155, now my 7-iron goes 163,” said O’Toole, one of nine LPGA Tour players who represent the brand on Tour. “And the new driver that I’m hitting, too, it’s been awesome. I can hit a choke down low ball here so it’s perfect for the wind but I feel like I’ve got control and I really like where my stuff’s at, so I’m happy about it.”
The PXG revamp went through O’Toole’s entire bag, and she pointed to her new wedges and putter as the keys to an improved short game. “I tweaked a couple of my wedges just to fine tune a little bit more,” she said. “I did a ton of work this offseason because I felt like that’s where I kind of got tentative. I want to be able to feel like if I miss a green, I can get it up and down.”
While the second round was not completed on Saturday, at 3-under 143, O’Toole sits in a tie for third, and her 69 is so far the lowest showing of the second round. This is shaping up to be O’Toole’s best Pure Silk-Bahamas showing, as she has only made the cut once in five trips to Nassau, finishing T31 in 2016.
ONE EYE ON THE BAHAMAS, THE OTHER ON TORREY PINES
Heading into her fourth season on the LPGA Tour, Cheyenne Woods is still looking for her breakout moment on the golf course. The graduate of Wake Forest University, who has two career top-10 finishes to her name, got off to a sparkling start on Saturday at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, carding birdie on four of her first seven holes to make the turn at 4-under 32. But three bogeys on her inward nine dropped her back to -1 on the day and +5 for the tournament, hovering just above the cut line with 54 players left to finish their second rounds on Sunday morning.
“I had to stay patient,” said Woods. “It’s been really windy all week. So patience is key and stick to my plan. I knew if I could ride it, out I would at least have a shot. Hopefully it stays there, and I can do well tomorrow.”
With her day complete, Woods was off to catch a familiar face making his way around a golf course nearly 3,000 miles away. Woods is the niece of PGA Tour star Tiger Woods, and points to her famous uncle, who is making his long-awaited return this week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course, as the reason she took up the game as a child.
“I grew up watching Tiger play,” said Woods, who last spoke with her uncle in December following his Hero World Challenge, also held here in the Bahamas. “He’s the reason why I play golf, so it’s really good to see him healthy, playing well, feeling good. I love watching him play. I’m excited to go in and catch hopefully part of his round.”
“IT’S A KORDA THING”
On Friday night (Saturday morning in Australia), Sebastian Korda, the younger brother of LPGA sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda, captured the Australian Open junior boys’ tennis title on the same court where their father, Petr, won the Australian Open 20 years ago.
Nelly, the lone Korda sister playing in the Bahamas this week, stayed up late to watch her brother become the third member of the family capture a title in Australia, joining Petr and Jessica, who won the 2012 Women’s Australian Open for her first LPGA victory. It was also extra special for Petr, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Jan. 23, and their mother, Regina, who will celebrate the same milestone on Feb. 5.
“Stayed up, I think, till midnight because I was still, like, so nervous, and my heart was still racing,” said Nelly of cheering on her little brother. “It was exciting watching him win, and it was a huge goal of his to come back with the trophy from Australia because he’s been there since the 24th of December. Winning the Australian Open and it being the 20th anniversary since my dad won was really special and then also my parents’ 50th birthdays. It was amazing.”
OF NOTE
- Brooke Henderson is one of just three players to post multiple wins in each of the last two seasons (two in 2016, two in 2017), alongside World No. 1 Shanshan Feng (two in 2016, two in 2017) and 2016 Rolex Player of the Year Ariya Jutanugarn (five in 2016, two in 2017).
- The earliest Henderson has captured a win in a full season on the LPGA came in her 15th start of the year, in both 2016 (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) and 2017 (Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give).
- Shanshan Feng has two wins in her last three LPGA starts.
- Danielle Kang is seeking her second career LPGA title and first since the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
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